Welcome to my team preview series for 2024-25. Each day between now and the start of the college basketball season, I will preview one team or conference, both on Instagram (@collegehoopsoutlet) and through an article here. The preview will go in-depth on the roster build of the team, my expectations for their upcoming season, and the state of the program under their current head coach.
Arkansas (Projected: 4th in SEC)
Welcome to the John Calipari era at Arkansas. After leaving Kentucky with a sour taste this offseason, Calipari should be motivated and ready to compete at the school of his former SEC rival. Calipari has a much more experienced team than most of his Kentucky lineups throughout the years, and it’ll be interesting to see what he can get done outside of Lexington for the first time in 15 years.
John Calipari returns just one player from the Eric Musselman era at Arkansas. Junior forward Trevon Brazile (9 ppg, 6 rpg) is the lone returner, an uber-athletic forward who has battled injury throughout his college career. If Brazile can return to the form he was in during the early part of the 2022-23 campaign before his injury, he could be a very important part of the Razorbacks’ frontcourt rotation. He’s a lot more athletic and mobile than his counterparts in the frontcourt and someone Calipari can use in a lot of different ways.
Plenty of players left alongside Musselman this offseason, highlighted by the backcourt duo of Tramon Mark (16 ppg, 4 rpg) and Khalif Battle (15 ppg). Keyon Menifield Jr. (8 ppg), El Ellis (7 ppg), Devo Davis (6 ppg), Jeremiah Davenport (5 ppg) Layden Blocker (4 ppg), and Joseph Pinion (2 ppg) all left from the backcourt as well. The Razorbacks’ frontcourt lost Makhi Mitchell (9 ppg, 5 rpg), Jalen Graham (8 ppg), and Chandler Lawson (4 ppg).
Six transfers enter the ranks for Arkansas in John Calipari’s first season, three of whom followed Calipari over from Kentucky. DJ Wagner (10 ppg at Kentucky) should be the most impactful of the former Wildcat trio. Wagner, a highly touted recruit in the class of 2023, didn’t quite live up to the billing in his freshman season, but still started 28 games at point guard for the Wildcats and showed off his great playmaking ability throughout. Adou Thiero (7 ppg, 5 rpg at Kentucky) spent two seasons with Coach Cal at Kentucky, breaking into the starting lineup last season as a sophomore as the best defender on the floor for the Wildcats. Zvonimir Ivisic (6 ppg at Kentucky) wasn’t cleared by the NCAA until mid-January last season but had a huge impact in a handful of games for the Wildcats. Now with a full offseason under his belt, Ivisic could become a more consistent contributor in the SEC and play good minutes in the frontcourt for Arkansas.
Johnell Davis (18 ppg, 6 rpg at FAU) was one of the best players in the transfer portal this offseason, and his commitment to Calipari and Arkansas was extremely important. Davis burst onto the scene when he helped lead FAU to the Final Four in 2023, including a 29-point performance against FDU in the round of 32. In 2023-24, Davis became the alpha of the Owls’ squad, leading the team in scoring and establishing himself as one of the best three-level scorers in the country. Having already showed out in the NCAA Tournament, there’s no doubt in my mind Davis will transition smoothly into the SEC and instantly be one of the conference’s best players.
Another veteran coming in is Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo (11 ppg, 7 rpg at Tennessee). Having spent the past three years at Tennessee, Aidoo is well-known across the SEC and shouldn’t have any transition period coming over to Arkansas. Aidoo brings elite rim protection and valuable rebounding abilities to the Razorbacks, and to top that off with his SEC experience gives Coach Cal two elite incoming transfers. Melo Sanchez (D2 – Hawaii Pacific) is the final incoming transfer, joining the Razorbacks after developing into an elite scorer and shooter at the D2 level for Hawaii Pacific.
As with any Calipari roster, there’s high quality freshmen who will be heavily involved in the rotation. Karter Knox (4*, NAT 22) is the most likely to start of the bunch, a prolific scorer standing at 6-6, slotting perfect into a small forward role for the Razorbacks. Highly touted guards Boogie Fland (4*, NAT 18) and Billy Richmond (4*, NAT 26) also enter the mix for the Razorbacks. Fland should split time with Wagner in the point guard role, a talented scorer and creator. Richmond is athletic wing, a player that should help the Razorbacks on both sides of the floor as a freshman. Casmir Chavis (3*, NAT 172) will be another guard for the Razorbacks’ rotation, a do-it-all combo guard who will likely see more time in future seasons.
It will be strange seeing John Calipari in Razorback red instead of Kentucky blue this season, but it’s something that was only a matter of time with how his final few seasons in Lexington finished. With some fresh motivation in Fayetteville, I think we could see a resurgence for Coach Cal. The roster for this upcoming season looks to be talented enough to compete nationally, but it will be up to Calipari to put it all together and finally have some success in March again.
The most important player for Arkansas this season will be FAU transfer Johnell Davis, and I don’t think that should be debated too heavily. He should be the leading scorer for this team and is the most experienced player on the roster, including playing in a Final Four less than 18 months ago. Next to Davis in the backcourt is my X-factor for this team though, Kentucky transfer DJ Wagner. Wagner wasn’t necessarily disappointing in his freshman year at Kentucky, but he was nowhere near what the hype surrounding him going into the season suggested. If Wagner takes the next step as a sophomore, he can combine with Davis to be maybe the second-most talented backcourt duo in the SEC.
Along with the Big 12, the SEC will be one of the top-heavier conferences in the country this season. Arkansas should be set to deal with it though in my eyes, having a coach who’s seen it all in the SEC over recent years. In Calipari’s first year at Arkansas, I think a projection of 4th in the SEC is more than reasonable, with a roster that combines experienced transfers and young talent.